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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence 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 the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent 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.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.