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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating 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 span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.