🔗 Share this article

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

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.