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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

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

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated 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 manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.