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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’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 publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.