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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent 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.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.