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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.