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

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

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 leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.