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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned 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 cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.