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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once 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 consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. 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 house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.