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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious 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 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.