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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.