🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, 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 trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife 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.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.