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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever 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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common 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 addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.