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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel 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 morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. 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 OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.