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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.