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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, 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 OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.