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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades 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 period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

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 evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.