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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, 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 five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.