🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Personal History

The accused 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 aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.