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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, 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

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.