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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” 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 tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.