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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine 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 “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.