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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.