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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan 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 risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.