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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.