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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say 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 acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped 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 waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation 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 rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.