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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed 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 did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.