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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware 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 rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

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

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.