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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.