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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.