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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told 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 had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.