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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years 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 conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying 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 appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told 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 influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused 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 caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.