🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.