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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

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

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.