🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased 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

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.