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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.