🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child 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 sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.