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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.