🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.