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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused 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 sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.