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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, 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 women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly 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 suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.