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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, 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 admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.