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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.