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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.