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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes 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 bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses 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 son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.