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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation 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 the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.