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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation 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 choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced 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 institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.