It is already shaping up to be the emblematic trial of chemical submission, this little-known scourge that Dominique P., despite himself, will have helped to bring into the public arena.
Arrested in September 2020, this septuagenarian, above all suspicion, had in reality been drugging his wife for almost ten years to have her raped in their home in Mazan (Vaucluse) by strangers recruited on the Internet.
The films made during this abuse, carefully archived by him and found in the context of another voyeurism case, made it possible to count 83 attackers, of whom 50 were ultimately able to be identified.
Some had visited the couple's house up to six times.
All will be tried before the Vaucluse criminal court from next September.
They face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Men from all social backgrounds
This extended hearing, planned to last four months with four days per week, has been officially scheduled from September 2 to December 20.
Given the number of accused, and the logistical challenge it represents, it will be held in the Avignon exhibition center which will be specially configured to accommodate a huge accused box, most of the accused being still detained - men from all social backgrounds, aged 25 to 72.
In addition to the rapes committed against his wife, Dominique P. will also be judged for “violation of privacy” for having taken photos of his two daughters-in-law, naked in their bathroom, using hidden devices.
The same facts are alleged against his own daughter, Caroline, whose photos show her in suggestive poses, asleep, in underwear that does not belong to her.
However, he always denied having drugged or assaulted her.
Also read “I lived with an enemy”: the chilling testimony of Béatrice, drugged by her ex-husband for six months
The latter, who told her story in a book, has since launched the M'endors Pas* association to alert public opinion to this insidious and totally underdiagnosed phenomenon, of which some emblematic cases have since emerged, such as that of Sandrine Josso, deputy drugged with ecstasy by senator Joël Guerriau last November.
The latter, as we revealed this Wednesday, was entrusted with a chemical submission by a relative: a government mission wants to break the silence by the Prime Minister in order to better understand the extent of the chemical submission and issue recommendations on the subject.
*https://mendorspas.org/