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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.