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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.