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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated 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, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.