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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.