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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial 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 the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.