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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.