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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, 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 convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities 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 being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.