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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.