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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.