🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, 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, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.