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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos 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 did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived 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 closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.