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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 was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty 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, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must 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 unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.