🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in 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 union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.