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My husband seemed the perfect family man. But for years he was drugging me, raping me and filming it. My body gave me warning signs, but I could never have suspected such depravity was the cause: ZOE WATTS
Zoe Watts has spoken out after discovering that her husband of 14 years, Ben, secretly drugged her with sleeping medication and raped her while she was unconscious, filming and photographing the abuse over a period of at least nine years. Ben, a printer and outwardly devoted "pillar of the community" who made grand romantic gestures, dismissed her chronic brain fog and migraines as symptoms of stress, when in fact they were caused by the sedatives he was administering. The case highlights a form of abuse that gained wider public attention two years later through the Gisele Pelicot trial in France, exposing a crime largely unrecognised by society at the time.
Ben has now served four years of an 11-year sentence for rape, assault by penetration and administering a substance with intent to overpower for sexual purposes. Zoe, 43 and a mother of four, met Ben in 2000 through mutual friends in Devon when she was 17, and says it took her a long time even to use the word "rape" to describe what had happened, given how deeply she had trusted him. She has waived her anonymity to raise awareness of drug-assisted abuse within relationships, stressing that society teaches people to fear strangers rather than the partners they live with.
In short
- Husband secretly drugged and raped wife for at least nine years, filming it
- He blamed her resulting migraines and brain fog on stress
- Ben is serving an 11-year sentence; Zoe waived anonymity to raise awareness
Explained simply
Zoe Watts and her husband Ben met in Devon in 2000 when she was 17 years old. Over at least nine years, Ben secretly drugged her with sedative medication and sexually abused her whilst she was unconscious, filming the abuse without her knowledge.
During the years of abuse, Zoe experienced chronic health symptoms including brain fog and persistent migraines. Ben attributed these problems to stress, but they were actually side effects of the sedatives he was administering to her without consent.
Drug-assisted sexual abuse within intimate relationships is a crime that has historically received little public awareness or discussion. The issue gained wider attention through the high-profile Gisele Pelicot trial, which revealed how such abuse can be perpetrated by partners and family members, often by those closest to the victim.