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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.