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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. 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 early 20s 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 principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.