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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.