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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos 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.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.