French man goes on trial for torture, rape of ex-partner

In a landmark case that horrified France, Gisele Pelicot's husband was in 2024 sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting strangers to sexually abuse her while drugged unconscious in their home.

In the latest trial, a 51-year-old, who was a bank manager at the time, has been accused of using the pretext of sadomasochistic sex games to manipulate his partner from 2015 to 2022 into torture and rape, including by strangers he found online.

The defendant, who has denied the claims and says his ex-partner consented, faces up to life in jail.

The 42-year-old plaintiff, a mother of four, walked into court as a dozen feminist activists gathered outside in support.

Laetitia, whose surname AFP is withholding, has told the French press she was inspired by the courage of Gisele Pelicot to make an example of her story.

"She believes that fear and shame should change sides," her lawyer Philippe-Henry Honegger said, adding that she wished "after being silenced for so many years, not to remain silent".

The plaintiff told public radio she "lived in fear" during her time with the accused.

She said she suffered "punches, being hit with a cutting board, knife or box cutter cuts in my back" and cigarette burns.

According to prosecutors, she told investigators that he ordered her "to have sexual relations with other men", taking "half, then all the money" when they paid.

She also said he was violent and resorted to emotional blackmail whenever she opposed his demands.

In 2022, the victim for the first time spoke of her ordeal to a friend, who alerted the police, leading to the man's arrest.

"This is a case in which a woman's testimony is supported, corroborated, reinforced, and confirmed by hundreds and hundreds of messages, phone exchanges, transcripts, and by medical findings that are indisputable," the plaintiff's lawyer said.

The abuse has left her physically and psychologically impaired, and "unable to lead a normal life", he said. The plaintiff told France Radio that today she was "incontinent, disabled".

The hearings are expected to last a week -- much shorter than the Pelicot trial, which ran for several months to examine the cases of all 51 accused.

The defendant in the trial has not been accused of drugging the plaintiff, unlike in the Pelicot case.