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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood 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 key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. 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 brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.