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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised 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 blame”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. 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 home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.