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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades 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 span of many years of their union.

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

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced 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 wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.