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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

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

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.