🔗 Share this article

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve 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 village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.