🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” 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 broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.