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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, 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 “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan 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 behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.