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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher 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 the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

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 engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived 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 the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking 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 school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.