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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.