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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.