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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.