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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict 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 Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, 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 frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.