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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “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 victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance 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 culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.