🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial 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 sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.