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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

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

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.