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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued 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.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.