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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment 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 responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” 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 courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.