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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, 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 the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.