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

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern 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 digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.