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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.