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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.