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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.