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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing 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 the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.