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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.