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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.