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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial 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 raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. 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 twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced 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 institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.