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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.