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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. 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 commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.