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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time 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 child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.