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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased 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 appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

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

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious 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 numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village 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 Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused 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 key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.