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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.