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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.