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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told the defendant 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 permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.