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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” 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 tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.