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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.