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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.