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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence 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 ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.