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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent 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.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.