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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.