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

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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 Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced 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 evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.