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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.