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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.