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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. 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 anxiety of the initial proceedings.