An associate of Frenchman Dominique Pelicot, who for a nearly a decade drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her, admitted to copycat abuse of his own partner on Wednesday, blaming his mentor and a troubled childhood.

Jean-Pierre Marechal, 63, told the French courtroom that Dominique Pélicot supplied the tranquilizers and acted as a mentor to him.

Gisele Pelicot, who has allegedly been drugged and raped by men solicited by her then-husband, Dominique Pelicot, talks during the trial of her husband and 50 other defendants at the courthouse in Avignon, France, Sept. 18, 2024, in this courtroom sketch.

An associate of Frenchman Dominique Pelicot, who for a nearly a decade drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her, admitted to copycat abuse of his own partner on Wednesday, blaming his mentor and a troubled childhood.

One of more than 50 men accused of raping Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot in a mass rape case that has shocked the world told her in court on Thursday that he was sorry for what he did. Lionel Rodriguez is among a small number of those accused who have admitted to raping Pelicot,

Lawyers for some of the men accused of raping an unconscious French woman who had been drugged by her husband have asked her about her habits, personality and sex life, and even questioned whether she

CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne reports on the trial underway in France where more than 50 men are accused of raping Gisele Pelicot. Pelicot’s case has sparked outrage in France after her husband of 50 years admitted to drugging her and inviting dozens of men online to rape her.