🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.