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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

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

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.