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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.