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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.