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

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

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 engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject 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 Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.