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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.