'I am a rapist,' Frenchman tells trial over mass rape of wife

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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.

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