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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” 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 proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 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.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.