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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. 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 OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality 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 refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.