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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.