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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men 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.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent 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 birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.