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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied 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 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses 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 Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.