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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.