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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.