The trial of a French man accused of recruiting strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife has been adjourned until Monday after the suspect was excused from attending in light of his deteriorating health, the court has said.

Should Dominique Pélicot, 71, be unavailable to attend proceedings for a lengthy period of time, then the trial will be postponed to a later date, the presiding judge, Roger Arata, said on Thursday.

“If Pélicot appears (Monday), we’ll carry on,” Arata said. “If he is absent for one, two or three more days, we will extend the suspension.” But if the accused “is unavailable for a lengthy period of time, the trial will be postponed”, he said.

Pélicot, who is accused of enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged wife over almost a decade, was on Wednesday allowed to leave court after he arrived looking weak and leaning on a cane, and was ordered to undergo a medical examination.

Arata had at first decided that the extraordinary trial should continue even if the main defendant could not attend until Monday.

Pélicot, who has admitted the allegations, was initially due to testify on Tuesday afternoon, but was on Monday excused from court because he was experiencing abdominal pain.

He has been on trial since last week, along with 50 other men aged between 26 and 74, for alleged involvement in a case that has horrified France. Most face up to 20 years in jail for aggravated rape.

Gisèle Pélicot, his ex-wife, who discovered the abuse only in 2020, has requested that the trial be open to the public to raise awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse.

The cases of four co-defendants had been scheduled for this week, including that of Jean-Pierre M, 63, the only one not to be accused of abusing Gisèle Pélicot. Instead, he has been charged with repeatedly raping his own wife after drugging her, in the presence of Dominique Pélicot, who provided the medication.

Arata had already indicated that he did not want Jean-Pierre M to testify without Dominique Pélicot present.