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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.