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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside 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 transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.