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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.