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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance 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 society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.