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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.