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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men 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 culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.