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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

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

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” 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 acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.