🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.