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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from 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 father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.