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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “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 panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.