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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished 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 Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.