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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.