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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality 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 unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.