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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, 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, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.