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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? 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: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused 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 testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.