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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform 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 hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.