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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed 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, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.