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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed 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 spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.