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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term 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 town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.