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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

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

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.