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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed 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, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited 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 proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.