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 am guilty of what I did,” Dominique Pelicot, 71, said, according to French media, whose reporters who were in the courthouse. “I pray for 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 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: “It is difficult to hear from the mouth of Mr Pelicot what he has just said.”
Prosecutors have said Dominique Pelicot offered sex with his wife on a website and filmed the abuse. In addition to Dominique Pelicot, 50 other men accused of rape are also on trial in the southern city of Avignon. Some of the other defendants have said they believed Gisele 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.
Gisele Pelicot insisted on a public trial to expose him 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.