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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.