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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, 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 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.