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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, 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 appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality 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 failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor 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 rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

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 testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.