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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern 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 online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.