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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

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 multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan 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 conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan 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 building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.