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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, 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 persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.