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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.