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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared 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 Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone 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 court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.