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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse 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 the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

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

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.