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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in 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 father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.