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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting 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 culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case 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 “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

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 court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.