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

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

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

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer 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 court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.