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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. 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 recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.