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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.