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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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 Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband 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 country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.