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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness 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 “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.