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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.