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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.