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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.