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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, 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 is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.