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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.