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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.