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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.