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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued 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 lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.