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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, 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, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot 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 husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.