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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised 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”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded 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 lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.