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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape 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 rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.