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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan 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 sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared 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 the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.