🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned 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

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.