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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.