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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

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 nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.