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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.