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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved 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 consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.