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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 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 consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, 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 acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.