Frenchman accused of mass abuse of wife says "I am a rapist", seeks forgiveness - media

Dominique Pelicot had been due to testify last week in a case that has shocked France, but his appearance was delayed due to health issues. He appeared in court with a cane.

"I admit to the charges in their entirety," Dominique Pelicot, 71, was cited as saying by BFM TV, whose reporter was present in the courthouse.

"I am a rapist just like all the others in this room ... I ask my wife, my children, my grandchildren to accept my apologies. I regret what I did. I ask for your forgiveness, even if it is not forgivable," he said, according to French media.

Pelicot faces charges including rape, gang rape and various privacy breaches by recording and disseminating sexual images.

He told the courtroom he had had a difficult upbringing and had been a victim of rape himself. At times he cried, according to French media.

His former wife, Gisele Pelicot, 72, who was in the courtroom during his appearance on the stand, also spoke, according to French media, saying:

"For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would never have imagined was capable of these acts of rape."

During a break in proceedings, Dominique Pelicot's lawyer Beatrice Zavarro told reporters: "All of the facts will be examined with all of the accused, and everyone will form their own opinion."

Prosecutors have said Dominique Pelicot, who was initially arrested after trying to film up a woman's skirt, offered sex with his wife on a website called Coco and filmed the abuse. Investigators found 300 photographs and a video of the acts,according to a court document.

In addition to Dominique Pelicot, 50 other men,currently aged 26 to 73, are also on trial on rape charges in the southern city of Avignon.

Some other defendants have said they believed Gisele Pelicot was pretending to be asleep and had in fact consented to sex, though Dominique Pelicot disputed that assertion in the courtroom on Tuesday.

If found guilty, the defendants face up to 20 years in jail.

Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose her husband and the other men accused of raping her and to shed a light on sexual violence, her lawyers have said.

To many, Gisele Pelicot has become a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence in France. On Saturday hundreds of people, mostly women, gathered in cities across the country to demonstrate support for her.