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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.