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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.