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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common 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.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.