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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as 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 originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.