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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape 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 culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.