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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial 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 the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

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

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.