Overview
- Following Monday's opening session, Laëtitia R., 42, told the Digne-les-Bains court she endured seven years of humiliations, forced sex with strangers, and violence without a safe word to stop it.
- The accused, Guillaume B., 51, said their relationship was libertine and sadomasochistic and insisted the acts were desired and consensual, even as he acknowledged the beatings, practices, and prostitution described.
- Prosecutors pointed to medical reports, audio recordings the court plans to play, and thousands of messages that they say document control, pain, and coercion over time.
- Witnesses described a pattern of domination, with an ex-wife recounting threats and demands to obey, a neighbor recalling screams, and a teenage son calling his father violent and manipulative.
- The former bank manager faces life imprisonment if convicted, the trial is set through Friday with a verdict due May 22, and the victim—recognized as 50% to 80% disabled—sought a public hearing as feminist groups rally outside.