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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault 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 innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, 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 five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.