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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child 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 frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.