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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.