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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.