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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.