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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.