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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.