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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 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, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.