A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.
The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.
We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”
The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”
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: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”
The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.
Marcus Sterling is a financial analyst specializing in precious metals, with over 15 years of experience in global markets and investment strategies.