🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses 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 son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.