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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher 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 bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms 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 invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.