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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.