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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge 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 agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.