MARSEILLE (France) — A 68-year-old man has been jailed in France after police discovered that he had drugged his wife for years so she could be raped by strangers while he filmed the assaults, officials said Wednesday (Sept 29).

A total of 45 suspects have been identified in an inquiry launched nearly a year ago in the southern city of Avignon, after the husband was caught trying to film underneath women's skirts in a store.

"It's rare to have so much evidence in a rape case. Here we have everything detailed, even if the victim, who was unconscious during the rapes, doesn't remember anything," said police commissioner Jeremie Bosse Platiere.

"It's also unusual because of how long they were carried out (from 2010 to 2020) and the number of offenders," he said, adding that the husband had filmed all the rapes.

The woman, who is also in her 60s, only discovered the assaults when alerted by police, he added.

The videos were found on the husband's computer along with messages posted on casual sex meeting sites, inviting people to take advantage of his wife while she was knocked out by anti-anxiety drugs.

Those accused of rape range in age from 24 to 71.

"He (the husband) would put her on the bed naked and warm up the room so she wouldn't wake up. The individuals would then tiptoe in and whisper, and if the victim moved at all they would leave," Mr Bosse Platiere said.

The husband and 32 other men are in custody and nine more are being questioned, he said. AFP