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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

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

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.