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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

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

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.