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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 jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial 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 sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.