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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed 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, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. 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 person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.