🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.