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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence 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 the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.