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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial 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 raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture 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 room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

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

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt 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 said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.