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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.