🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing 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 a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.