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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly 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 asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. 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 OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.