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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.