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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period 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 no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.