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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators 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 town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.