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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating 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 the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred 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 “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid 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 father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. 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 married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.