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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” 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 tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced 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 school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.