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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.