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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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 Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.