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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.