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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” 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 the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” 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 had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.