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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.