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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” 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 told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.