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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued 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.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.