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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, 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 convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking 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 builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.