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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced 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”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.