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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent 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 Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. 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 deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.