🔗 Share this article

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.