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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated 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 aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.