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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support 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. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication 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 “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.