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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

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 Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, 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 repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.