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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

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

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious 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 three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as 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 originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.