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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.