🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.