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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.