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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework 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 court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.