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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

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 appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span 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 only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.