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

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.