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

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” 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 knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.