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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house 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 society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.