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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

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 drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.