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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape 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 choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.