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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated 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 assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding 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.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness 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 ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.