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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased 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 responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture 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 ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.