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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe 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 prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.