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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.