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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.