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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known 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 central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced 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 victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.