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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.