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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. 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 married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.