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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality 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 accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.