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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan 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 never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.