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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” 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 hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.