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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework 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 caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.