The daughter of a man who drugged his wife to let 70 men rape her is ‘convinced’ he did the same to her.

Dominique Pélicot has admitted to orchestrating the rape of his wife over nine years by dozens of men he recruited online. The 71-year-old would drug his wife in the evening using strong tranquilisers and invite men to their home in Avignon, France.

Gisèle Pélicot has no recollection of the assaults and has waived her right to anonymity, insisting the trial not be shut to the public because “that’s what her attackers would have wanted”.

Fifty men accused of taking part in the alleged rapes join him in court on aggravated rape charges, facing jail time of up to 20 years.

They include a fireman, a lorry driver, a municipal councillor, an IT worker in a bank, a prison guard, a nurse and a journalist. Some were single, others married or divorced, and some family men. Most participated just once in the alleged sexual assault, some up to six times.

Pélicot was caught after a supermarket security guard stopped him filming up women’s skirts in 2020. When police searched his devices they found more than 20,000 pictures of Gisèle naked, unconscious and being raped on a file called “ABUSES”.

They also found photos of his daughter, naked and asleep with the caption: “Around my daughter, naked.”

The pair’s daughter Caroline Darian (a pen name) wrote a book in 2022, Et J’ai Cesse de T’appeler Papa (And I Stopped Calling You Dad), on the family’s ordeal.

Caroline wrote in her book how she has long been “haunted by the fear” that her father may have invited men to rape her too, adding: “I’m convinced I was drugged, but he’ll never admit it.”

Her father has admitted to the manipulation and abuse of his wife but has denied abusing Darian. “I never touched my daughter,” he told prosecutors. 

Caroline added in her book that Pélicot “dressed Maman like a low-rent prostitute” for the men coming to rape her.

The men are said to have been given strict instructions by Pélicot before they could rape his wife. To avoid waking her, tobacco and perfume were banned, hands were washed in hot water to be the same temperature as her body, and they would undress in the kitchen so as to not leave clothes behind.

When Gisèle was experiencing severe gynaecological issues and contracted a sexually transmitted disease, Pélicot even accused her of cheating on him.

Experts said Pélicot does not appear to be mentally ill but reportedly concluded that he needed to feel “all-powerful” over the female body in assessments included in court documents.

The shocking trial, which began on Monday, is set to end on December 20.