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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, 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.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.