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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 incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused 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 sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.