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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.