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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

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

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.