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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced 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 sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.