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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” 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 focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, 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 presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious 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 court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. 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 invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy 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 refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.