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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.