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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, 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 said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed 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 am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.