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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by 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 Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.