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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 spouse – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.