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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’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,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.