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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting 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.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.