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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 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 “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.