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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 was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework 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 caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.