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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed 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 home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.