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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period 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 only man to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms 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 room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.