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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.