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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

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

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. 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 OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity 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 accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.