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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot 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 driven by the public consciousness spurred by 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 “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed 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 stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.