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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing 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 raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.