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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape 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 the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit 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, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.