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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance 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 addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.