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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial 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 Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst 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 rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.