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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” 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 courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.