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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.