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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing 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 institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.