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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan 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, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.