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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance 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 responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.