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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

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

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.