🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing 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 special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.