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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration 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 contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.