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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused 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 building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.