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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.