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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.