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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-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 appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.