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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

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

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.