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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first 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 leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.