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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent 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 told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.