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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.