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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated 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 principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.