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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

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 court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.