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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested 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, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality 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 responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.