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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told 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 had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

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 caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.