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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

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

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.