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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced 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 spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.