🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, 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 assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.