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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.