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00:00Flanked by her lawyers, Giselle Pellicot arrives at court.
00:04The 72-year-old attending trial as her husband takes the stand following delays due to issues
00:09with his health.
00:11On Tuesday, Dominique Pellicot admitted to the charges against him in their entirety,
00:16adding he was a rapist like all the others in the room.
00:19He asked his wife, children and grandchildren to accept his apologies.
00:24The 71-year-old said he regretted what he did, asked for forgiveness while acknowledging
00:28his actions were unforgivable.
00:31Dominique Pellicot is standing trial alongside 50 other men between the ages of 26 and 73.
00:38He's accused of orchestrating the rape of his wife by strangers, after drugging her,
00:42over the span of nine years.
00:44Some of the defendants said they believed Giselle Pellicot was pretending to be asleep
00:48and had in fact consented to sex, although that assertion is likely disputed after Tuesday's
00:53testimony.
00:55Dominique Pellicot's lawyer, meanwhile, says more details about her client will emerge.
01:00He was raped at the Chateauroux hospital when he was nine years old.
01:03He was present at a gang rape where others wanted him to participate when he was 14 years
01:08old and he witnessed some scenes of sexual violence between his parents that he shouldn't
01:12have seen because a 14-year-old kid mustn't see that kind of thing.
01:16While Dominique Pellicot's testimony is expected to continue, his wife has become a symbol
01:21of the struggle against sexual violence in France.
01:25Over the weekend, hundreds took to the streets across French cities in solidarity with Giselle
01:29Pellicot, who was met with cheers and applause over in Avignon when she left the courtroom.