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

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.