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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “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 hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood 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 principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.