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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.