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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance 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, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, 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 regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.