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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. 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 arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.