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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

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

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending 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 shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred 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 “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs 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 faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.