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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

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

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time 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.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to 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 injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.