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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending 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 video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.