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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence 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 temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero 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 Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.