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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 spouse – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence 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 society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.