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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.