🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told 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 deceived 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, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.