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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape 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 single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.