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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.