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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

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

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced 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 wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.