🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.