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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone 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 wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.