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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with 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 married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. 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 attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.