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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 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 panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.