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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration 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 conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.