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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture 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 culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son 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 regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.