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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.