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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.