🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” 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 proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.