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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

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 panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.