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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? 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.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking 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 homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.