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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero 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 unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses 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 spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.