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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife 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 annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.