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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed 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 am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.