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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.