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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.