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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan 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 sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.