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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence 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 responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.