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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed 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 told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced 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 testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.