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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced 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 spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.