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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

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

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.