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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed 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 told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” 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 never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded 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’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.