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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

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

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.