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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.