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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum 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 hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek 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 rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to 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 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.