🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, 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 hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town 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 only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.