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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade 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 sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses 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 child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.