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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.