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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted 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 Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.