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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.