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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times 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 suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.