🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim'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 proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.