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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.