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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence 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 Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge 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

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.