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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to 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 sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated 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 attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? 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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation 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: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.