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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The 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 videos were simply “sexual encounters” 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 allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.