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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” 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 broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question 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 never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.