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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else 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 wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

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

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.