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

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.