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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

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

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.