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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance 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 ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from 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 Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.