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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.