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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. 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 house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.