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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, 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 married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. 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 police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son 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 way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.