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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation 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 abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.