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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? 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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.