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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested 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, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

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

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I 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: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.