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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan 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 conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.