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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan 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 spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, 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 intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.