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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon 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 unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.