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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” 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 larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half 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 unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up 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 Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.