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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.