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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with 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 testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, 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 sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.