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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? 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: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.