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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told 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 key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.