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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.