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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.