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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 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.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.