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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders 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 rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

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

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness 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 the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.