🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty 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 period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.