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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated 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 deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” 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 deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, 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 repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.