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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived 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 the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood 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 principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.