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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.