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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten 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 initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.