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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.