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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.