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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence 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 transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official 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.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married 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 wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.