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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed 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 sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’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 continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced 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 school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.