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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.