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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape 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 contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.