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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.