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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many 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 contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must 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 individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.