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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction 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, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant'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 said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.