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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.