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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.