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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape 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 notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.