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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” 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 wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished 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 unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence 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.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.