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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. 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 brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance 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, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.