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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.