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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.