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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.