🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana 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 served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.