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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired 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

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.