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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.