🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.