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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.