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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.