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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term 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 appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.