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An individual 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.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.