🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon 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 the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure 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 concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

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 testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.