🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 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 Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing 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 hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.