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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

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 concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.