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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 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 Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.