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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants 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 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.