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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.