The founder of the website Dominique Pelicot used to recruit men to rape his wife Gisèle has been detained as part of an investigation into money laundering, pimping, child pornography and murder.

Isaac Steidl, an IT expert, is the founder and former administrator of Coco, where Pelicot, 72, invited members of his chatroom “without her knowledge” to sexually abuse his drugged and unconscious wife in the couple’s Provence home over a 10-year period.

The site received almost 800,000 visitors per month before being shut down in June last year.

Last month, Pélicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated rape and 50 other men were all found guilty of rape or sexual abuse and sentenced to up to 15 years in jail.

Mrs Pélicot, 72, became a feminist icon after waiving her right to anonymity to ensure the trial remained public.