🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back 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. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding 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: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan 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 parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.