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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” 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 did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.