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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 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 period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.