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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan 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 father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.