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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, 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 regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.