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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, 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 four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.