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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades 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 town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to 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 acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.