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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, 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 repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.