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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood 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 without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.