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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, 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 permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must 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 complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.