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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware 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 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 blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.