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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

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

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished 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 failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.