AVIGNON, France (AP) They are, on the face of it, the most ordinary of men. Yet theyre all on trial charged with rape. Fathers, grandfathers, husbands, workers and retirees 50 in all accused of taking turns on the drugged and inert body of Gisle Pelicot while her husband recorded the horror for his swelling private video library.

The harrowing and unprecedented trial in France is exposing how pornography, chatrooms and mens disdain for or hazy understanding of consent is fueling rape culture . The horror isnt simply that Dominique Pelicot, in his own words, arranged for men to rape his wife, its that he also had no difficulty finding dozens of them to take part.

Among the nearly two dozen defendants who testified during the trials first seven weeks was Ahmed T. French defendants full last names are generally withheld until conviction. The married plumber with three kids and five grandchildren said he wasnt particularly alarmed that Pelicot wasnt moving when he visited her and her now-ex-husbands house in the small Provence town of Mazan in 2019.

It reminded him of porn he had watched featuring women who pretend to be asleep and dont react, he said.

Like him, many other defendants told the court that they couldnt have imagined that Dominique Pelicot was drugging his wife, and that they were told she was a willing participant acting out a kinky fantasy. Dominique Pelicot denied this, telling the court his co-defendants knew exactly what the situation was .

For the first time since early in the trial, Gisle Pelicot spoke Wednesday about her husbands immeasurable betrayal, and expressed sympathy for the wives, mothers and sisters of his 50 co-defendants, French media reported.

I always wanted to pull you up, toward the light, she said, addressing her ex-husband. You have chosen the depths of the human soul.