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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood 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 courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy 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 refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.