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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators 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 Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.