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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

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

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.