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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.