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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “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 unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.