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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.