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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.