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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.