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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town 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 temporarily testify at the retrial, informed 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 sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.