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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.