🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.