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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot 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 spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.