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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.