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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.