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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men 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 culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement 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 seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses 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 main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.