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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.