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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

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 evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.