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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” 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 tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived 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 failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.