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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

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 incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.