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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

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

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.