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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.