A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.
Retrial Proceedings
Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
We trust the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”
Context
The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”
The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”
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.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.
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 court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.
