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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril 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 informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance 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 culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.