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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared 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 deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.