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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known 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 broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.