A man accused of drugging his wife and letting at least 50 men rape her while she was sedated has told a French court: "I am a rapist."
Warning: This story contains details that readers may find distressing
Dominique Pelicot appeared in court in Avignon, southeast France, as he gave evidence in the case that has shocked the country.
According to local media, the 71-year-old defendant told the hearing: "I admit to the charges in their entirety."
He added: "I am a rapist just like all the others in this room."
Pelicot is said to have cleaned his wife's body after the attacks and given the men orders so she would not wake, including warming their hands, not wearing aftershave or smelling of cigarette smoke.
The couple had been married for decades and have three children, but Pelicot was allegedly putting a powerful drug in his wife's food to knock her out prior to the attacks.
The defendant, whose appearance was delayed due to health issues, told the court that his now ex-wife Gisele "did not deserve this".
Mrs Pelicot - who has waived her right to anonymity - listened attentively to her ex-husband as he spoke, looking at him.
At the end of this statement, she lowered her head, putting her sunglasses back on.
"For me it is difficult to hear it," she said, after she was given the opportunity to respond.
"For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would never have imagined for a single second could do these things. I had complete confidence in this man."
Pelicot was then asked to react and said: "I am guilty of what I did."
He added: "I regret what I did, I ask for forgiveness, even if it is not forgivable."
Read more:
Gisele Pelicot tells court of 'scenes of barbarity'
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Tap herePelicot faces charges including rape, gang rape and various privacy breaches by recording and disseminating sexual images.
Prosecutors have said Pelicot offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse. In addition to Pelicot, 50 other men accused of rape are also on trial.
Pelicot told the courtroom he had a difficult upbringing and was a victim of rape himself.
Some of the other defendants have said they believed Mrs Pelicot was pretending to be asleep and had in fact consented to sex. If found guilty, the defendants face up to 20 years in jail.
A lawyer for one of the defendants, Christophe Huguenin-Virchaux, told Sky News that "at no point" did his client feel like what he was doing was illegal.
He continued: "They just thought they were taking part in an agreed scenario between a husband and his wife."
"The husband presented the situation as the couple's fantasy, explaining that everyone gave consent, and that as part of the fantasy there were very specific instructions that had to be followed"
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