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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe 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 question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.