🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.