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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.