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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.