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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused 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 had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.