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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

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

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread 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.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.