🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.