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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. 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,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.