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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood 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 trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.