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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.