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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.