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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.