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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by 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 court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.