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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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 Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.