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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested 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, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators 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 guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” 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 key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

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

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.