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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined 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 testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.