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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.