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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan 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 did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

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

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.