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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.