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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed 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 invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.