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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.