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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.