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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.