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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

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

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.