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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.