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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” 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 residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “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 hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.