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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity 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 unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.