🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, 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 expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape 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 high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.