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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.