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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.