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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

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 been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

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

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

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

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence 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 told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.