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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced 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 bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant'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: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.