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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.