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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

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 community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.