🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed 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 house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, 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.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.