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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.