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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing 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 Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.