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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial 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 sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house 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,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.