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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced 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 sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.