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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, 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, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.