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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband 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 say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.