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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village 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 Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware 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 without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.