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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.