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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy 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 refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.