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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.