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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer 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 spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.