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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.