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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty 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”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

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

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.