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

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial 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 residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” 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 proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated 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 incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced 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 educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.