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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.