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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came 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 consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. 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 son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.