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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom 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 husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded 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

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.