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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

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

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.