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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” 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 attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.