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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.