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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged 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 residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected 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 the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.